[Solved] Adobe: The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000022)

Does this look familiar?

You may receive this Windows error: The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000022) for Adobe in these situations:

When you try to run Adobe Acrobat Reader;
When you double-click your PDF file to access it;
When you want to save an individual PDF file on Adobe;
When you want to install a new Adobe Acrobat Reader, etc.

No matter how this error happen, don’t worry and feel frustrated; you can fix it by yourself with this guide.Here’re 2 methods for different causes you can try to fix this problem. Please try Method 2 if Method 1 doesn’t work.

Method 1: Check the permission setting of your Acrobat Reader
Method 2: Repair your Redistributable 2013

Method 1: Check the permission setting of your Acrobat Reader

Your Windows account should have the full control of Acrobat Reader to enjoy the app’s advanced feature or even the basic ones. When you see 0xc0000022 error, check the permission setting of Reader:

1) On your desktop, right-click on the shortcut of your Acrobat Reader and click Properties.

Note: If you didn’t create a shortcut for your Reader, you can right-click on the .exe file for your Reader in the folder where you installed Adobe before. Then select Properties.

2) Go to Security tab, then click Edit.

3) Select your account, and check on Full control. Then click Apply > OK to save your settings.

4) Close the Properties window. Then run your Acrobat Reader to see if it works.

Method 2: Repair your Redistributable 2013

Windows apps relies on Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable to install and work properly on your Windows; Acrobat Reader is no exception. You can repair Redistributable to solve your problem:

1) Type control in the search box from Start and click Control Panel from the result.

2) Click Programs and Features in the Large icons section.

3) Right-click on Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Restributable and click Change.

4) Click Repair.

Click Yes when asked by User Account Control.

5) The repair should then start automatically. Wait for a while, it’s usually around 1 min. 

6) Click Restart and run Acrobat Reader again to see if it works.

If unfortunately, repairing the Redistributable doesn’t solve your problem, please go on to reinstall it:

1) Type control in the search box from Start and click Control Panel from the result.

2) Click Programs and Features in the Large icons section.

3) Right-click on Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Restributable and click Uninstall.

4) Down a new Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013 from official Microsoft website.

5) Install the downloaded .exe file on your computer.

6) Reboot your Windows and run Acrobat Reader to see if it works.